Creative ways to locate MeSH subheading information

Locating notes about MeSH subheadings can be one of the most difficult aspects of MEDLINE searching. When used with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), subheadings serve to limit or define the focus of a heading. National Library of Medicine (NLM) indexers, staff members who enter the MeSH indexing into the database, use subheadings freely. They do follow indexing conventions and savy searchers need to be aware of how to obtain basic subheading information to assist in search formulation. There are a number of methods which may be used in order to view subheading use notes. This column will provide an overview of some alternatives to locating such information.